A Year On The Moor

A Year on the Moor

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A Year on the Moor

A Year on

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Foreword Tarquin is a man with a passion for grouse. He has spent much of the last seven years on East Allenheads and Muggleswick, camera in hand, trying to convey that passion through his photography. The results speak for themselves.

He has taken around 20,000 individual photographs a year and whittled them down (he says this is the boring bit) to these exceptional images. What they show is not only the splendour and beauty of the moors and the grouse that inhabit them, but also the many other positive side effects that twenty-first century grouse-moor management has. For example, the great abundance and diversity of other birdlife that flourishes in the same habitat as grouse do, and the socio-economic benefits

that the activity brings to remote rural communities.

Grouse shooting is about the most redistributive activity there is: politicians take note! As can be seen from the photographs, everyone involved, no matter what their role, is as passionate about the grouse and the moor.

Over the years Tarquin’s skills with a camera have evolved apace as has our understanding of grouse management, both heavily influenced by new technology. This book is a record of every aspect of the new golden age of grouse management and I commend it to you.

Jeremy Herrmann

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To Mum and Dad for making it possible to enjoy the countryside

Copyright Š2015 Tarquin Millington-Drake First published in the UK in 2015 by Quiller, an imprint of Quiller Publishing Ltd British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-84689-213-4 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Publisher in writing.

Printed in China Edited by Alice Millington-Drake Designed by Guy Callaby

Quiller An imprint of Quiller Publishing Ltd

Wykey House, Wykey, Shrewsbury SY4 1JA Tel: 01939 261616 Fax: 01939 261606 E-mail: info@quillerbooks.com Website: www.quillerpublishing.com

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Contents Introduction 8 winter 14 spring 36 summer 60 autumn 116 Photographs 158 Acknowledgements 160

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A Year on the Moor

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Introduction In my twenties, I used to shoot grouse with friends every year overlooking Loch Tay. My host had great affection for grouse back then, a relationship that has proven to be life long, which in those early years I did not fully understand.

When that youthful era ended for me, and the reality of making a career kicked in, the grouse shooting fell away for almost 20 years. Then another friend, Jeremy Herrmann, owned not one but two moors, and was building them up to be among the most respected in the country. Moors of this ilk seemed untouchable holy grails where only the best and wealthiest Shots ever graced the heather, and the shoot staff were among the hardest and toughest people in the country.

My first visit was as a shooting guest and needless to say my results were pretty poor! But the overwhelming feeling that I left with was how lucky we were that someone amongst us was prepared to care for a place to such a degree. Those two days

were the beginning of my love affair with the grouse and the moors, but also the start of a deep affection and respect for the people involved, who are among the most friendly, fun and decent I have met. I believe, possibly because of the wild nature of the place and the birds, that those involved with grouse shooting, Guns and shoot staff alike (by that I do not just mean keepers but all those involved both on the moor and around the houses that are connected to the moors), are perhaps more in tune with nature than the pheasant shooting community. Grouse communities positively hold their breath during May and June when the grouse have their chicks.

Of course, the grouse represent an income to many but I have learnt that they mean so much more to the people that work there.

I used to take photographs up on the moor around Loch Tay; indeed I have taken photographs since I can remember.

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I am one of the generation that missed out on formal film training but benefited from the ability to self-teach with the coming of the digital era. I still view myself only as an amateur with much to learn. Through my travel career there has always been a need for good photographs, either for brochure material or as a record of a trip, and that need has taught me to perform under any conditions to capture moments in time that cannot be repeated. As my enjoyment of photography grew so my need for a project did too. Each year I went north and was encouraged to take photographs by the owner and his guests.

To my surprise people seemed to like what I was doing and how I interpreted the moor. About five years ago, with some material already captured, my love of the moor and desire for a project that was semi-accessible from my Gloucestershire home became a natural fit. The project began in earnest.

It was all I could do not to move north. I wanted to see the moor in its every mood, I wanted to follow everyone and see what they were doing and wanted to be out with the grouse whenever possible. All rationality in terms of budgets for equipment went out of the window and I spent off-seasons plotting and planning how I could better photograph what was taking place on the moor both during and outside the shooting season. Cameras came and went to eBay, time was spent with Canon technicians studying my images and going over settings buried in the deepest darkest pockets of in-camera software.

Some of this effort paid off, and some of what has been achieved is simply luck. I cannot predict the position of the bird in the fractions of a second when the camera does achieve focus, and these photographs are the result of thousands and thousands of images.

When I am in photography mode (and often when not) I see the world in photographs and I want to capture and share those images with others. For this project, what has interested me is that so many of these images freeze a moment that we would not otherwise be able to see with the naked

eye. This applies to grouse flying, hen grouse nurturing their chicks, a big pack bursting over the butts in the autumn or even a grouse hunkered in the snow. We watch it happening but we cannot ‘see’ it until those moments have been frozen for us to examine. Many accomplished wildlife artists have influenced me in what they see and how they see it, but I now feel I may have contributed in some way to show them the reality. My greatest pleasure during the project has been in meeting the people, from Guns to all the shoot staff. The majority of Guns have such appreciation for where they are and the grouse themselves. Consequently, I have found warm enthusiasm for what I have been doing, which has given me great encouragement. As to the shoot staff, from the kitchen to the house staff to the keepers, beaters, flankers, loaders and pickers-up, they have been nothing but supportive and welcoming. They really know how to work and play hard but most of all I appreciate their deep affection for the fell.

Finally, my favourite time on the moor has to be the spring.

With the arrival of many waders, the moor is positively heaving with young, vulnerable life. To watch the parents go about their business of raising young and to see the young chicks, all beak and legs, keeping up with mother is one of the great sights.

I would recommend that if you have any affection for game shooting, particularly grouse, you ask a keeper to take you on the hill and show you what is taking place. It is not only the birds clucking over their young, but also keepers and anyone willing to help protect the young at this critical time. This is when one begins to understand the people on the moor and where their hearts really lie.

So this is the story of a moor told in as few words as possible, following the seasons as those who work on the moor see them, and following the lives of the grouse that they depend upon, and in turn depend upon them. tarquin millington-drake

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introduction

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A Year on the Moor

“To be out on the moors on a driven grouse day is to combine a desire and need to refresh the soul in these wild places together with the thrill of the ‘hunt’ for the most spectacular of sporting birds and the pleasure of being in the convivial company of like-minded people from all walks of life.”

James Petty, Woodland contractor, Loader

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A Grouse Moor’s Season

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A Grouse Moor’s

WINTER The third week of November to the second week of March

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